June 12, 1994 marked the 68th day of the 100-day genocide against the Tutsi, as killings continued across the country. Survivors were still being hunted in various areas, while RPA forces advanced, liberating territories and rescuing civilians.
On June 13, French journalist Daniel Mermet, speaking on France Inter public radio, reported on atrocities committed in Rwanda by Interahamwe militia and the Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR).
In his programme “Là-bas si j’y suis,” Mermet cited testimony indicating that Colonel Théoneste Bagosora, a senior defence official and key figure linked to genocide planning, had supplied weapons in Nyarubuye in eastern Rwanda to facilitate the killing of Tutsi civilians.
The report was based on testimony from survivor Valentine Iribagiza, who survived the mass killings at Nyarubuye Parish after hiding for days among the bodies of her murdered family members and neighbours.
Her testimony contributed to growing international awareness of the scale and organisation of the genocide, particularly among French audiences.
On the same day, RPA forces captured Gitarama town, where the interim government had been operating. By then, however, the authorities had already fled to Gisenyi on June 10.
